Thursday, October 28, 2010

I have always been a big fan of fiber. Fiber has many health benefits, the most obvious of which is that it can relieve constipation and help with digestion. Fiber also helps to prevent certain diseases and can be useful for anyone who is looking to watch their weight and eat a healthier diet.

Fiber works to absorb large amounts of fluid within the bowel, making your stools softer, and leads to improved bowel movements. Research suggests that the result of improved bowel movements is a reduction of the incidence in colon cancer. Fiber can be insoluble – such as fiber in nuts, whole grains, veggies, and wheat bran, or soluble, like the fiber in apples, oats, beans, and barley. Soluble fiber has been shown to help keep cholesterol under control, which staves off heart disease. Fiber can also work to regulate blood sugar levels to prevent or reduce the significance and incidence of diabetes.

So how do we get more fiber into the diet? I've read that it is recommended that adult women under fifty years of age consume 25 grams of fiber each day and that adult men of the same age take in 38 grams. Women over fifty need 21 grams of fiber and men over fifty need 30 grams each day.

To get more fiber, I recommend high fiber cereals (Whole Foods makes a great one that I'll be writing about soon). They make a great breakfast or a filling snack anytime. Lima beans are an excellent source of fiber; in just ½ cup of lima beans, you’ll find 7 grams of fiber, but black beans have 7.5 grams per ½ cup. You’ll also find fiber in apples (3.3 grams) and raspberries (1/2 cup has 5.5 grams).

You can always take the “easy” way out by adding fiber to your diet with fiber products, but I think getting it naturally is always better.

About Yummy Diet Food

Hello. My name is Juliet and I live in the Bay Area. I love food! I am also both weight and health conscious, and I don't like to eat foods full of unhealthy ingredients (especially the ones targeted at dieters these days). So, I created Yummy Diet Food for people like me who are looking for low calorie foods that are both healthy and delicious (meaning *no* artificial sweeteners, hydrogenated oils, high fructose corn syrup or sugar alcohols). Learn More >

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About Me

Hello. My name is Juliet. I live in Northern California, the Bay Area. I love food! But, I am health conscious and I try to follow the Weight Watchers plan while simultaneously eating really healthy, yummy, "better-for-me" low calorie foods!

By the way -- healthy to me means: (1) No High Fructose Corn Syrup (2) No Hydrogenated Oils (3) No Artificial Sweeteners, and (4) No Sugar Alcohols. Learn More....

Lastly, I don't eat a lot of meat, so this is a vegetarian friendly blog.